


Out of Breath - Whumptober 2020

by loveamongstars



Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hanging, Hurt Steve McGarrett, Hurt/Comfort, Whumptober 2020, shackled
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:02:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26781076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveamongstars/pseuds/loveamongstars
Summary: Whumptober prompt 1: Let's hang out sometime [shackled | hanging]
Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953688
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Out of Breath - Whumptober 2020

**Prompt: Let's hang out sometime [shackled | hanging]**

“You’re dead,” It was barely beyond a whisper. Warm blood trickled from his mouth, but he did not care. His shirt was ruined, but it was not the first one he had ruined and it would probably not be the last…or maybe it would be, if…

“Tell us where she is and I will cut him down.” It was a simple, yet effective thread. Time was not on Danny’s side, nor was the situation. Initially, he thought both were. Initially, the guy had focused on beating Steve, realizing that was no way to get an answer out of Steve. He moved on to beat Danny, again trying to get the answer out of Steve, but he remained stubborn. Only Danny could tell how much it cost him to stay silent. Every tiny wince registered with him as he held Steve’s gaze. Stupid emotionally damaged Seal. This was harder for him than being beaten up himself. Danny tried so hard, without saying it, that it was okay, he could take it. He had to take it, for as long as he could, to buy them time. Their team would find them. They just had to wait.

However, time was no longer on their side. Their perp - the leader of a criminal gang, whose wife had fled to Hawaii and had been hidden by Five-0 - realized that this would not serve either. Maybe it was the way Danny had begun to shake, maybe it was the fact that he was just slightly more vocal when he got beaten, but his strategy had changed.

He had left the room for just a moment, long enough for the two cops to look at each other. Remembering the moment gave him shivers. Steve had given him a sad smile, an almost knowing smile. He had expected something bad to come. And Danny had seen it in that smile. He hoped to be wrong, but he hadn’t been. The guy returned with a rope and some friends, the kinds of friends that had ended up using a moment of distraction to capture first Steve, then him. Danny didn’t need to ask anything. The way the rope had been tied, the length… Danny had screamed at him to stop, finally knowing what was about to happen… it happened regardless.

He wanted to give him the location, he really did. Trade the heavily guarded safe house for Steve’s life. He would do it in a heartbeat. He trusted the HPD enough to not gamble on his best friend's life. He trusted his team enough to be able to go after him, to save her, even if it would be close. He would do it… if only he knew the location. If only either of them did. If only the shackles allowed him enough slack to scoot forward, under Steve’s legs, but he could do nothing. He could do nothing but watch his friend struggle for air as time ran out on him. He knew this way Steve could last longer, but there was only so much he could take.

“Steve…” He didn’t know why he spoke his name, didn’t know what he wanted until Steve opened his pain-filled eyes. Danny smiled at him, a sad smile, but still a smile. If he really couldn’t stop this, at least the last thing Steve would see was a friendly face. When Steve closed his eyes this time, Danny knew he would not open them again.

A broken sob escaped Danny as he slumped forward, eyes burning as warm tears joined the blood on his face. He shook as if pain and rage were threatening to tear him apart then and there. He leaned forward as much as he could, wrists straining. He was ready to break them, just to get to Steve, to get a hold of his legs, to support him… just a little more…

A shot rang out. For a second Danny could not place where it came from, until the asshole in front of him collapsed, a stain developing under him. Danny didn’t even bother to look back to see who had saved him, Five-0, HPD, CIA, whatever, he didn’t care. He only cared about one thing.

“CUT HIM DOWN!” Lou and Junior came into his view as they ran to do just that, Lou cutting him down, Junior catching him and lowering him to the floor. Someone behind him messed with the shackles - he assumed it was Tani, by the way she took her time, probably horrified still by what they had come to find, but he could not pay attention to it, he just couldn’t.

“Is he…?” Lou had chosen that moment to put his fingers against Steve’s neck. It was a faint nod. Junior got up and turned away, no doubt calling for medical assistance. Finally, Danny felt the shackles release. He scooted forward to Steve’s side just as he coughed. His hand, shaking and no doubt weak reached for his neck, which looked all kinds of wrong to Danny, but what mattered was that Steve was alive still. Danny intercepted both hands and held them, to prevent Steve from accidentally hurting himself more.

“It’s okay, Steve. Help is on the way. You’ll get a nice shot of the good stuff, I reckon, and probably your usual bed in Tripler.” Slowly Steve opened his eyes and he smiled. Danny laughed shakily. “That smile again, seriously? Is that your answer to everything today? Let’s just smile it all away. Unbelievable!”


End file.
